“Good morning,” he said to the room. “And it is indeed a good morning.”
Behind him, two individuals from a diversity-consulting firm stood ready to explain their role. For the next 18 months, both entities seek to leave no stone unturned in examining diversity at IU.
On April 14, DEMA hosted two informational sessions to unveil its latest initiative to examine the state of diversity across seven of IU’s campuses. In partnership with consulting firm Halualani & Associates, the University will receive several assessments based on compiled data from the past five years.
Using Google, campus surveys and information collected by the University, the firm will create a diversity map of the campus that displays the efforts done by ?different groups on campus.
The maps for IU-Bloomington and IU-Purdue University Indianapolis campuses are expected to be complete by November. Wimbush said the University will release the findings to the public on its website. He said he hopes the transparency will serve as a catalyst for change.
“Of course, I hope they don’t find ugly,” Wimbush said. “But we all know there is good, bad and ugly. What I’m hoping that we will do is create that impetus for more resources for more work ?towards action.”
DEMA and the University have fallen under scrutiny in recent years for their handling of diversity affairs on the Bloomington campus.
Under the office’s previous administration, students protested the lack of recruitment and retention of minority staff and faculty.
Additionally, the untimely resignations of DEMA staff such as Eric Love, former director Office of Diversity Education, have caused an outcry across campus.
John Nieto-Phillips, a professor in the history department and former director of the Latino Studies program, said it is important for the University to function as a public institution with a mission to serve its state ?population.
“I think its extremely important that we think of ourselves as a public institution with a public mission,” he said. “Central to that mission, I think, is our pipeline, which brings first generations to IU and provides them with opportunities for a better life than their parents.”
After releasing maps in the fall, the firm will map diversity in the five regional campuses during the spring of 2016. The group will then complete and release a retention and recruitment map for each of the seven campuses by the summer of that year.
Attendees of the presentation are cautiously optimistic of the progress being made to improve diversity on campus but feel it is important the entire University is on board with effort to improve ?diversity, Nieto-Phillips said.
Patrick Smith, executive director of the Office of Mentoring Services and Leadership Development, said minorities should have more awareness in viewing their presence as a contribution to diversity not only within IU, but also the Bloomington neighborhoods they live in.
“If they were to come to a community like IU, like Bloomington, there are certain things they need to be aware of,” he said. “Also, there are certain things that we need to realize we can contribute to. It’s a two-way street.”
Nieto-Phillips said faculty and departments could play a bigger role in pushing diversity efforts. While the University’s leadership and student body are engaged in striving to diversify the campus, he said, the midlevel employees are lagging in their efforts in the classroom.
“Diversity is more than just cultural appreciation,” he said. “It’s fundamentally about equity, and education plays a major role in striving toward equity in society.”
The data collection will end with a structural analysis of the DEMA office.
The firm plans to conclude the assessment with recommendations for the University and cost projections to implement them. The final reports will be released at the end of 2016.
“I think they’re really ready to come in and find out what’s really going on,” senior Madinah Luqmaan said in reference to the diversity firm. “I just hope the University is ready to take on what comes at them.”
Wimbush said top University administrators are in support of the assessment and will be receiving periodic updates on the firm’s progress. He said the firm’s work will not be in vain and its goal is to improve diversity at IU.
“With the concerns we have on this campus and other campuses about diversity — and we’ve had these concerns for a number of years — we need to use this opportunity to actually make a difference,” Wimbush said. “We cannot afford to waste this effort.”
